baldforalongtime

Have my one year with the doctor tomorrow. Last pictures on this thread

Posted in wrong thread 😞

First attempt with the thickening conditioner, wax, and a hair dryer. Still need to work on the method but I think improved

The difference is amazing. Amazon is delivering the wax and I'll post a picture.

5 hours ago, FollicleFanatic said:

Your scar looks really good, even despite the donor area being a little thin.  Well done.  

Thanks! I'm coming up on the year mark and am trying to decide on doing the crown. I like being able to go as short as I do on the sides as it slims up my roundish face, but have been told the second surgery usually leaves a bigger scar.

15 minutes ago, EvoXOhio said:

Your results are great so far. I think the biggest thing working against you is that you style your hair wet. Wet or even the wet look makes our hair look thinner and makes it easier to see skin underneath. Try towel or blow drying your hair, then style with a product that makes the hair look dry and matte. I use wax (just use a little, too much will make it look wet) or styling powder and both make my hair look noticeably fuller when compared to styling it wet or with products with a wet look. 

Thanks for the feedback...and I agree. I comb it wet, using Rogaine foam as the holding agent. I then let it dry; followed by brushing it out to break up the clumps. I still get the bunched hairs and see through to the scalp.

I've thought of going shorter again to try to get better shingling. What wax do you use? I'll try it and take pictures.

12 minutes ago, deitel130 said:

Perform scalp laxity exercises. It helps. At my consultation for my second surgery I was advised I can get 2200 grafts but was advised do the scalp laxity exercises and after about 4 months on surgery day I got 3500. I would have had more but I had a lot of scar tissue from my first strip which had to be removed.

What are the exercises they gave you to do?

19 minutes ago, phantom777 said:

Yes, the 2nd strip was taken from the same area as the 1st strip.

The 2nd strip was 26x1.5=39cm2 , but due to the 1st strip scar being a part of the 2nd strip, the actual strip area reduced to 33-35cm2 instead of 39cm2.

Did you do anything for scalp laxity and how is tightness now? I have this irrational fear that me hairline gets pulled higher and higher with each strip removed from the donor area. Kinda like a facelift from the back

Was the strip taken from the same area so it included the first FUT scar?

I'm considering going for a second surgery to do the crown...but the doctor indicated that the scar would be larger on a second round.

Excited to follow your progress and hope the best for you!

9 months update. Haven't had a cut in the last two months. Letting it grow until I have to go back to work in April, just to see what it looks like longer. Well, if I start dating again I may get a cut 😉

It really looks like you're getting some growth. The daily checking is both impossible to avoid and torture. Give it two more months and you'll have enough growth that this time will be a distant memory.

Happy growing!

On 9/24/2020 at 2:43 PM, naakmuka said:

How are things looking?

 

I was worried about stretched scar at about the same point (and from the same dr ;-)), but it was just shockloss. It will fill in, but it takes about 6 weeks.

2 hours ago, naakmuka said:

@baldforalongtime - Any update? Its been a month! Looking forward to it.

Here we go...month 7. I had my checkup with Dr Alexander and he is very pleased with the result...as am I.

Random items:

• I found out that of the 3200 grafts, ~2200 were doubles
• I'm back on Finasteride for over a month now. So far so good. Still on Rogaine from the beginning
• The scar is still really good. I hope it continues to fade, but I've done haircuts as low as 2.5 and the grain of the hair is only a slight giveaway

I asked Dr Alexander when we could do the crown and he wants another check up at the year mark. I don't see much difference other than length in the past two months. I hope to get more thickness for the next few months, but am happy and leaning heavily to doing the crown next year.

I'm curious about cutting the top shorter. I am definitely getting the combover look on the crown and up top when my hair is wet. I typically comb my hair wet and then wait 20 minutes for it to dry and brush it out.

On 10/2/2020 at 5:03 AM, HairFunk said:

Looking good at this stage!

How often are you taking Fin? 

I stopped for two months as I was having really bad anxiety...which we couldn't determine was quarantine, working from home, or the fin.

I'm back on fin now for two weeks and we'll see what happens. Fingers crossed

Six months. Results are coming along nicely. I think I've lost off the crown since stopping Fin...but I'm about to start up again as things have stabilized with anxiety.

Congrats on the procedure! Looks really good and brings back memories of my day with Dr Alexander 6 months ago. The next two months are the hardest, but focus on the light at the end of the tunnel. You look like you have strong donor hair. Happy growing!

1 hour ago, aaron1234 said:

I just go by what I see.  I sectioned off the bottom of your crown and it's clear that within this area the hairs are miniaturized and without medication will eventually be bald.  It could recede even lower than what I indicated as I see thin spots in your donor.  Even with medication, you might still lose that hair.  But the only fighting chance the hair in that area has is if you stay on fin.  Even if you do half the dosage, or alternate days, that's better than nothing.  

 

You see my worries very well. I realized after the surgery how bad my donor area is. There is absolutely thinning in the back and there weren't a lot of non-single grafts on the first surgery.

I've considered going the SMP route after assessing where I'm at in a year or two. I do have a good head shape and a quality SMP place where I live.

On 8/23/2020 at 5:44 PM, aaron1234 said:

Oh yeah! Looks like you got great yield! It's filling in very evenly in the frontal third, even just at 5 months.  I will encourage to try to get back on Fin if you can.  As a NW6 you want to make sure that you maintain your lateral humps, those could easily recede and leave you with an extremely large bald area that will be impossible to cover with HT's.  It'll also keep your donor hair healthy and strong. Happy growing, everything is looking really good as of now!

Thank you aaron1234! I'm working my way onto medication for anxiety and then I'll start back on fin. What have you learned/heard about stabilization of hair loss? I kept my head shaved for so long I am unsure if I'm still losing.

I assume I am still, but I was surprised at how much hair was left on top once it grew out again.

Five months in.  Good progress in the last month as it is thickening up and growing longer. I haven't cut the top in two months now. The back and sides are cut at a 2.5 guard. I can still see the scar in photos with bathroom light on, but in normal light it's almost undetectable.

Still doing Rogaine and off finasteride for now. We'll see how things go for the next month, but I think I'll want one more surgery to add a bit to the temples and front and to fill in the crown.

59 minutes ago, home1212 said:

WOW, really growing in nicely and you can see the outline of a great result! FUT scar in donor is negligible even at very short hair length - congrats and continued success healing & growing 

The donor scar has really faded in the last month. That haircut is at a three. I might try a two again and see how it goes on next month's cut. I've started dating again and the confidence boost of having hair is fantastic.

Happy growing! It looks like they did a good job of dispersing the grafts and covering the front third. Will you post the donor area update?

9 minutes ago, NicoAustralia said:

I had FUT this month myself, looking forward to following your results mate

Hope things goes perfectly with your procedure. Are you going to post your results?

120 days. Updates of note:

• Had to stop finasteride for a while. Anxiety and panic started about 30 days after starting it and I held on for as long as I could. There are a ton of other factors that could be causing the anxiety - had a breakup at the end of February, been quarantined since March, selling my house. So I'm going off for 30 days and then will start back up
• I'm still microneedling the sides, back, and crown weekly at 1.5mm
• I don't see much new hair sprouting any more. I'm hoping more pops up and that the front third thickens up a bit more, but I'm happy so far

2 hours ago, squarepatch said:

Hey mate, looks like the frontal third is coming along nicely. Hopefully it goes off over the next couple of months. 

The scar is not too bad, a bit of smp down the track can hide it hopefully 

Thanks @squarepatch...I've found a good place for SMP where I live and will probably go that route after I'm done having surgeries.

At this point, the hair is coming in nicely and I'm hopeful to achieve a satisfactory density. The good thing about a short haircut on the sides is that it gives uniform scalp exposure all the way around and, to me, looks more balanced.

Things I'm pleased about at this point:

• The crown is growing in way better than what I expected. Microneedling+Fin+Min seem to be working a bit
• Framing of my face...it makes a huge difference
• Getting to brush hair again